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My heart aches. I’ve never felt an emotion like this. It’s a physical pain that wrenches me apart. The fact I know Piper feels it, too, and I can’t do anything to help her only, makes it worse.
“He’syourson,” she sobs. “You’re the one who should be upset. I’m sorry that I—”
I roll her onto her side and swallow her body with mine, wrapping her in my arms and tucking her against the curve of my legs until she stops shaking.
“You loved Benjamin as much as I did. You don’t have to apologize for crying, Piper.”
She nods, and I hold her until her breathing turns deep and even.
In the silence, the restlessness in my bones resurfaces. This time, it has direction.
My men are roving the streets looking for Benjamin. But Noelle is out there, too.
Piper may have been wrong about Noelle, but maybe she was right about one thing: Noelle might know a lot more than she has told us about my son.
If she does, I want to know what. Slowly, carefully, I peel myself away from Piper and tiptoe towards the door.
Once I’m in the hallway, I don’t hesitate. I head for the garage and grab my keys.
It’s time to do something.
44
TIMOFEY
I don’t even need to pick Noelle’s lock; the door has been poorly repaired from the last time I kicked it in. All it takes is a firm shoulder and the frame gives way with a groaning burst of dust and splinters.
The last time I was here, I thought Piper had betrayed me. Now, I’m here because she’s the person I trust most in the world.
Funny how shit changes.
The room is dim and the air is stale. Clearly, no one has been here for some time.
Still, I call the traitor’s name into the gloom. “Noelle.”
I don’t expect any response, and sure enough, there isn’t one.
“Good,” I snarl under my breath. If she’d answered, I’d have had to kill her.
I turn towards the desk where I found Piper hiding before. She thought I was the Albanians coming to slaughter whoever was behind the door, but it doesn’t quite wipe away the guilt I carry that she was shaking and afraid because of me.
I shove the thought aside and shuffle through Noelle’s desk drawers. Beyond bills, a stack of blank envelopes, and a half-used roll of stamps, I don’t find anything worthwhile.
Her laptop is in the center of the desk. I grab it and toss it onto the couch. I’ll take it with me and let the tech guys have a look at it. I doubt Kreshnik would be stupid enough to email Noelle about his kidnapping plot, but it’s always worth checking out.
Smarter people than him have made worse mistakes.
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I hear the floor creak, and I realize—I just made a mistake of my own.
I manage just a single step towards the exit before a shadowy figure appears in the doorway. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot.”
Noelle is holding a gun with both hands as she emerges from the darkness. Her finger is hovering over the trigger.
“Didn’t you hear me before? I asked if there were any traitorous bitches around,” Itsk. “You didn’t reveal yourself.”
“I make it a point not to throw out the welcome mat for people who break into my apartment.” She nods towards the door. “I found that hanging off the hinges when I got here. Was that you or should I be expecting Kreshnik to show up at any moment, too?”
“It was me both times. But don’t flatter yourself: I was here to find Piper the first time.”
